On the relationship between money and happiness: an exercise
using proverbs from around the world
PART A
Consider the statement below:
“The more money someone has, the happier that person is”
Please choose one of the following
I strongly
agree
On the whole
I tend to
agree
I neither
agree or
disagree
On the whole
I tend to
disagree
I strongly
disagree
Please add below any comment that you may want to make:
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PART B
Please spend a few moments thinking about the proverbs below:
Money is power
The rich man plans for tomorrow, the
poor one for today
When gold speaks, every tongue is
silent
It’s not money that brings happiness;
it’s lots of money
Time is money
Money is the root of all evil
After a rich man gets rich, his next
ambition is to get richer
With money you can buy a house, but
not a home
The best things in life are free
You cannot force anyone to love you
or to lend you money
For discussion
Which proverbs strike you as true? Which ones as valuable?
To what extent do you think that they apply to everyone, regardless of one
comes from?
Do you think there is wisdom in proverbs?
Can you think of some proverbs about money or wealth from your own
culture?
Please have a go at answering again the question below:
Consider the following statement:
“The more money someone has, the happier that person is”
Please choose one of the following
I strongly
agree
On the whole
I tend to
agree
I neither
agree or
disagree
On the whole
I tend to
disagree
I strongly
disagree
PART C
Below are all the proverbs containing the word “wealth” from the Prentice-Hall
Encyclopaedia of World Proverbs.
For each proverb, please rate (a) whether wealth is portrayed in a good or bad
light, and (b) how truthful you think the proverb is.
The range of ratings is from 2 to -2. Give a 2 where wealth is portrayed in a
very good light, and -2 where it is portrayed in a very bad light; give 1, 0 or -1
for in between ratings. Similarly give a 2 is a proverb strikes you as very true,
and -2 if it strikes you as very untrue; give 1, 0 or -1 for in between ratings.
Is wealth
How true is
portrayed in a
each
good or bad
proverb?
light?
(2=good,
(2=very
-2=bad)
true, -2=
very
Proverb
A man's wealth is his enemy
Bear wealth; poverty will bear itself
By labour comes wealth
Great wealth and content seldom live together
Great wealth, great care
Great wealth will marry off even an old woman
He that marries for wealth sells his liberty
If there is wealth, there is joy
Ill-begotten wealth and illicit pleasure are both bad
In wealth beware of woe
Inherited wealth has no blessing
I It will do no good to have wealth that you won't use
Little avails wealth, where there is no health
Much wealth brings many enemies
The best wealth is health
The greatest wealth is contentment with a little
The rich man's wealth is enjoyed by crafty tradesmen
The rich man's wealth swallows the morsel of the poor
untrue)
The unjustly acquired wealth never reaches the third generation
The wealth which enslaves the owner is not wealth
There is no wealth where there are no children
There is no wealth without pouring out one purse into another
Wealth and content are not always bedfellows
Wealth and happiness, like smoke, vanish
Wealth can be concealed, but not poverty
Wealth can be sought, but reputation never
Wealth counts not so much as good will nor as knowledge and pleasant
speech
Wealth is a fine thing, but to find an heir is not easy
Wealth is best known by want
Wealth is cautious
Wealth is an enemy to health
Wealth is invited, but poverty invites itself
Wealth is like a pool: as soon as you dig a channel, it all runs out
Wealth is like a rheum, it falls on the weaker parts
Wealth is like smoke
Wealth is not his who has it, but his who enjoys it
Wealth is not picked up like lice
Wealth is of no use to the dead
Wealth is short-lived
Wealth is the poison of pleasure and the root of sorrows
Wealth makes wit waver
Wealth makes worship
Wealth may be bequeathed to the children but it never reaches the
grandchildren
Wealth will not keep death away
Wealth without learning is like beauty without chastity
When there is wealth, there is power
When you have wealth and fame, even strangers gather round;
in times of poverty and lowliness, even relatives depart from you
Where wealth is established it is difficult for friendship to find a place
Where wealth is, there sorrow is
Where wealth, there friends
Who seeks for wealth without previous wealth is like him who carries
water in a sieve
Please have one more go at answering the question below:
Consider the following statement:
“The more money someone has, the happier that person is”
Please choose one of the following
I strongly
agree
On the whole
I tend to
agree
I neither
agree or
disagree
On the whole
I tend to
disagree
I strongly
disagree
PART D
Biographical information:
How old are you? ………(years)
Are you male or female?........................
What degree are you studying for?.......................................................................
What is your nationality?.......................................................................................
What is your ethnicity?..........................................................................................
Are you of any religion, and if so which one?........................................................
Do you work, and if so what do you do?...............................................................
PART E
Evaluation
I will present the results of the questionnaire to the class in a few weeks’ time.
In the meantime, can you comment on the usefulness of using proverbs as a
way to discuss the relationship between wealth and happiness? What you did
you think was good or bad about this approach?
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Thank you!